The Orphan of the End
by Saiyan5Nine-tails
Summary: The orphan who could insert himself into the past.  The quiet desire for no more "alternate realities".  The wish to 'end' and start over that could never be granted.  The desire for a family he could never have.  The life story...of Tsukishima Shukuro.


Note: My apologies if this is not a good story. I just typed it up within the hour.

The Orphan of the End

His first memories were of nothing.

He had no parents or siblings. He had no name. All he had was just the orphanage, a place that never bothered to give him a name, and where he had no friends. His only companion was a novel, and a book-mark that he himself made. In the novel, he read about a time traveller who went back in time and changed reality. He was amazed that such a concept and a part of him wished he could have done the same thing: go back in time, and make it so that he was given to a family to raise, and not this cold orphanage.

At that point, his power awakened.

The orphan knew he stood out. He knew that none of the other kids could "make things happen" as he could now with his book-mark. Eventually, he realized that he did not "make things happen"; he "inserted himself into the past". He could time-travel like the person in his book! He kept it secret, and developed it more and more, able to insert himself further into the past, and he could use it on more objects than before.

Then came the day he was adopted at long last, and was given a name.

He was elated...but at the same time lonely. They weren't like him at all. In fact, it seemed like they adopted him because they could not have a child of their own. So he continued to practice in secret with his power and book-mark over the years, until he was around fifteen years of age.

One day, his book-mark exploded suddenly, and the last thing he remembered before he lost consciousness was a blade suddenly shooting out of his book-mark, and cutting his left eye.

When he woke up in the hospital, the book-mark was still by his side...but his adoptive parents weren't. He eventually recovered after a few weeks, and returned to his parents. But they only scolded him for what they perceived to be his "stupidity", and said that "if we had our own child, he would not have behaved like you!"

He was angry and bitter, so he manifested the new power that he awakened, and cut them both, with this thought going through his mind: _All I ever wanted was to be your child!_

Then...it happened.

When he came to, he could not comprehend what he just went through. It was as if...he had lived an entirely different life with his parents, where he was their _natural-born child. _He ran out of the house to collect himself, and an hour later when he came back to the house, his parents greeted him. He asked them one question to confirm his suspicions, and they answered:

"What are you talking about? Of course we are your biological parents."

He never felt happier than in that moment. It was no lie! He had changed things! He was now _their_ child! He embraced them, and the next three years were spent in bliss.

...Then they rediscovered the adoption papers.

He watched helplessly as their minds broke as his new "reality" conflicted with what actually occurred in the real world, and he observed them broken on the floor, their eyes rolled up in their heads, and drool pouring out of their mouths.

There was no emotion, yet tears rolled down his face. He bitterly realized that even if he changed reality by "inserting himself into their pasts" as their natural-born child, the world did not change. The reality his power created and the reality he lived through...were only reality to him and them.

The orphan no longer had a family, and he no longer had a name. He was an orphan again

So the orphan tried again. A cousin, a best friend, a brother and a lover were the various ways he tried to become part of other people's lives after that. Every time, a contradiction would be found, and every time, he tried to reinforce his "reality", only to have their minds broken again. Every time, he lived through new life-times, and every time, the experience chipped away at his compassion and love for others.

Memories, the orphan concluded, were nothing more than superficial constructs of the mind he could manipulate. In a world where monsters chased him and tried to kill him because of his power, it meant nothing, and he was alone.

That soon changed.

A man suddenly appeared out of nowhere, a giant claymore in hand. They clashed blades, and through "inserting himself into the past" of the blade, he learnt the remarkable history of this man. What was more miraculous was what he saw: the man was just like him.

He was not alone anymore!

Eventually, the fighting stopped, and the man gave his name, and approached the boy with a proposition: an organization where people like the two of them could gather, and learn to control their powers. Through that place, the man could regain the power he had once lost, and he needed followers to be there by his side.

The orphan agreed to the man's proposal. He liked the way the man thought. He was a kindred spirit who cast aside empathy and compassion for others because he realized one of the laws of the world: survive no matter the cost.

Over the years, they gathered others like themselves, both old and young. They observed who was loyal to them, and those who were not loyal, and those who did not agree with their ideals or eventual plans. Those few that opposed were slaughtered, and some were even broken by his power.

Eventually, the day Ginjou was waiting for had arrived.

It was a boy called Kurosaki Ichigo, who was the target. He used to be a Shinigami Representative for Soul Society before he lost his Shinigami powers. The plan was simple: get Ichigo into Xcution; get him to trust Ginjou; awaken and complete his Fullbring, and then Ginjou, the first Shinigami Representative, would take his Fullbring power away. The intended use for that stolen power is something only Ginjou and he knew.

During this time, the orphan had come across an interesting Fullbringer, who could manipulate "probability" with his knuckles. He wondered a little what drew him to the boy. Was it because he was an orphan too? Was it because he was considered unlucky and weak in that school for delinquents? Was it because Moe wanted purpose in life like he did?

Nevertheless, he would take full advantage of it.

Having used his power on Ginjou to make the charade more convincing – because Ginjou was a bad liar after all – he set about on his first order of business: which of Ichigo's Nakama should the orphan book-mark first?

He made his target Arisawa Tatsuki.

According to Ginjou's information grid, she was Ichigo's oldest friend. She had no powers, but the orphan knew that meant that she was the perfect target to push Ichigo over the edge.

He moved swiftly. Manifesting "Book of the End", he appeared in front of her, and cut clean through her. She would not die. The wound would disappear, because in the new "reality", the attack did not happen.

The orphan having created a new name for him a long time ago spoke:

"I am Shukuro Tsukishima. I am Kurosaki Ichigo's cousin."

His finesse with his power had grown. He did not even need to insert himself into a position directly related to his victim for his power to work.

He prepared himself to live through yet another life-time...

Now, he could choose which events to live through, so the experience is not as long as it was in the beginning.

A part of Tsukishima still yearned for a genuine family though. In this instance, it was the smiles of the young Tatsuki and Ichigo as they listened to him read a story that gave him these thoughts. He brushed them aside, and reminded himself it was never real.

But a part of him still whispered: _I wish I could start my life all over again. I wish I wasn't me. I wish..._

_That this life would end, and a new one would begin._


End file.
